It was Radian delivery day at my house today (pics of XT)

fyrfightermomma · Feb 6, 2009

I got two Radians today-my XT and the 65 I wasn't supposed to get and cancelled

but it's here now so I put the kids in it.

I was hoping I would be able to get the seats more upright RFing with the new foot, but my seats are very sloped and it didn't work out to well. Both are at 45 degrees :thumbsdown: I'll play more tomorrow.

I also couldn't get it tight with LATCH, but did alright with the seatbelt. I just hate seatbelt installs because I have locking latchplates and it makes me have this irrational fear that it will loosen overtime vs a switchable retractor that is "stuck."

Also the 65 touches my pass. side front seat which isn't allowed in my car so I'll have to try to fanagle something tomorrow. It's too dark and cold now.

I really liked the XT. My only concern was that the headrest was at the lowest setting for my almost 40" almost 4 year old and was just barely right. I would have liked it a tad lower. And she's as big as most 4 year olds. I can't believe the head wings only go that low. They aren't even close on my 2 year old. So that bums me out. Especially since my younger one will be FFing soon, and the wings won't be low enough. The first pic is misleading, the side pic is better. You can see how the bottom of the wing is at mid cheek level. It doesn't surround her entire head (like my siggy pic of the Signo)

My question is, I've heard on here that if you are using the lower 3 RFing and the wings are too high you should move them up out of the way to the highest position. But my manual specificially states if the wings are too high rear facing to move them to the LOWEST position. so which is right?

I really do like the new chest clip though :thumbsup:

Here's some pics. Don't mind the cheesy grin or awful hair!! She just woke up

And the Radian 65 I'm probably not gonna keep but wanted to try out anyways.
NOTE: This pic has misuse. I didn't adjust it for her.

MomToEliEm · Feb 6, 2009

Thanks for the pictures. I sure hope you are able to get a better recline in your car when you play with it tomorrow.

I wonder why they didn't make the headrest go down further. It just seems like they would have made it a little more adjustable so that it would fit the younger kids using the seat.

BW1426 · Feb 6, 2009

Cute pictures

Here's my best advice for getting them more upright with LATCH:

--Loosen the LATCH strap and hook the seat into place
--Pull the recline foot a little ways out from the bight
--Put the front seat down so you can get behind the seat and push forward and down
--tighten up the LATCH.

I hope you can make it work

MissAllyLou · Feb 6, 2009

I feel as if I need one .... I am in LOVE with that pink color !!!!

ketchupqueen · Feb 7, 2009

Are your seats sloped opposite of most seats? I ask because even with the old foot I can get a more upright install than 40 degrees in my super-sloped Corolla outboard seats, it seems like that would help you get a more upright install, not make it harder.

As for the wings, they look okay to me. Not optimal, but okay, they should contain the head somewhat at least in a crash, if you KWIM.

And the manual is in error, according to this post. Future manuals will ship with the correct instructions.

emandbri · Feb 7, 2009

Aw they are so cute! It is odd that the wings don't go down further.

Kat_Momof3 · Feb 7, 2009

I'm guessing so that it can fold without the base hitting the wings... but if the headrest moves so easily, why not just add the simple step of pulling it up??

about the headrest when the harnesses are in the bottom 3 slots... it is supposed to be to pull it all the way up (carseatblog.com has a review which says the manual is a misprint and new manuals will be changed to reflect this)

I would feel FREE to use your younger one to take pics in the XT and email Russ (pm me if you need the address) because he was so sure that they would be useable for small ffers... not sure why.

Pixels · Feb 7, 2009

The headwings look like they are in a great position to me

Are you sure that's as far down as they go?

Russ told someone on here the same info about wing position that the manual states. The online manual also agrees with the currently printed one. If you are using the top three slots, the wings should be just above the shoulder. On the bottom two slots, it should be all the way down. My 9th percentile DD was on the second slots RFing at 7 months old, so even the tiniest of FFers should be on at LEAST the third slots FFing. A month and a half (and a growth spurt) later, she's about even with the third slots now at not quite 9 months old.

RFing provides a lot of SIP so I don't worry about the wings much for that. Though it would be nice so DD's head doesn't flop so badly when she's asleep.

The reason the wings don't go farther down is because of the attachment point for the top tether.

I wouldn't go against what the current manual says unless I had personally 1) seen it in a newer manual, or 2) talked/emailed with SKJP.

fyrfightermomma · Feb 7, 2009

pixels99 said:
The headwings look like they are in a great position to me Are you sure that's as far down as they go?

Russ told someone on here the same info about wing position that the manual states. The online manual also agrees with the currently printed one. If you are using the top three slots, the wings should be just above the shoulder. On the bottom two slots, it should be all the way down. My 9th percentile DD was on the second slots RFing at 7 months old, so even the tiniest of FFers should be on at LEAST the third slots FFing. A month and a half (and a growth spurt) later, she's about even with the third slots now at not quite 9 months old.

RFing provides a lot of SIP so I don't worry about the wings much for that. Though it would be nice so DD's head doesn't flop so badly when she's asleep.

The reason the wings don't go farther down is because of the attachment point for the top tether.

I wouldn't go against what the current manual says unless I had personally 1) seen it in a newer manual, or 2) talked/emailed with SKJP.

Yep it's as far down as they go. I wish I would have gotten a pic of DD2 because they aren't where they *should* be if she were FFing and she's 95% for height and weight. Maybe I'll do that this afternoon.

Both girls are on the 2nd from the bottom slots, but the wings are alright for my older one, but not low enough for my younger one. So in that case, even though they are low enough for DD1, because she's on the 2nd slot they should be all the way lowered? Same with DD2

Kat_Momof3 · Feb 7, 2009

I thought your older dd was using the third slots.... maybe fourth?

anyway... I'm emailing Russ about the headrest issue... that is... the question of where to place it.

I referenced carseatblog's post and the manual.

zeo2ski · Feb 7, 2009

Your ODD is on the second from bottom slots? My (tall, long torsoed) 2.5 year old is on the 4th slot for Rfing. My 10 mos old is on the 2nd slot.

I was curious about how the wings really would fit a 12 mos old FFer too, so I tried it out with my 10 mos old. He's 56% for height and I measure a seated height (slouched though) of 17 inches. For FFing he would be on the third slots, but the results were not good with the wings! They're actually in a place that I think would be more dangerous than having no wings, but I'm just guessing that. My pics are uploading right now--I was going to start a thread, but maybe I can just add to your thread? I think there'll be a lot of "I got my XT pics" threads popping up, lol.

zeo2ski · Feb 7, 2009

Here's how far down the wings go. The camera angle is from the top so it looks like they go a little lower than they actually do. The bottom of the headpiece comes down right to the top of the 3rd slots up. The reason they didn't make it go down farther was the tether straps connect right below where the wing track stops so they would have had to make major changes to lower it any more. The wings are easy to move, but at first I couldn't get them to budge they were very tight.

Hope you don't mind me adding to your thread...

DS1: 2.5 (will be next week)
32.5 lbs
36.5 inches
13.5 torso
23" seated height
4th slots up--he's just slightly above with it reclined, I think if it were installed upright and he were FFing he'd be on the same slots. I tried it "FFing" in the house (which is more upright than in the vehicle) and he had just over 3" left of torso growth.

Here's the end result (and the faces this child makes are solely about the camera, not about the seats...

)

Love the depth of the wings:

Not sure how much further down the wings could go on him, I didn't really try that.

DS2: 10 mos today
almost 16 lbs
28.5" tall
10.5" torso
17" seated height
With the recline foot on, and using the body pillow, this is him set up for actual RFing (with the wings all the way up rule...it'll be interesting to see the final ruling on this.)

In 2 months he'd be 1. Doubt he'll be 20 lbs, but his height right now is 56% for age, so a 12 mos old who is below 50% height could be this fit in the seat. If he were FFing right now he would be on the 3rd slots up, and this is as low as he headwings go.

fyrfightermomma · Feb 7, 2009

zeo2ski said:
Your ODD is on the second from bottom slots? My (tall, long torsoed) 2.5 year old is on the 4th slot for Rfing. My 10 mos old is on the 2nd slot.

I was curious about how the wings really would fit a 12 mos old FFer too, so I tried it out with my 10 mos old. He's 56% for height and I measure a seated height (slouched though) of 17 inches. For FFing he would be on the third slots, but the results were not good with the wings! They're actually in a place that I think would be more dangerous than having no wings, but I'm just guessing that. My pics are uploading right now--I was going to start a thread, but maybe I can just add to your thread? I think there'll be a lot of "I got my XT pics" threads popping up, lol.

Yep, 2nd from the bottom. She has a little over a 12" torso. She is ALL legs. I had it on the 3rd slots which fit in the house, but once I installed it, it was above her shoulders so I moved it down. YDD who has about a 13.5" torso is just AT the 3rd slot and I probably could move them up one and be ok.

I haven't looked where in relation their shoulders would be for FFing, but I'd assume 3rd for DD1 and 4th for DD2 (once again, it would change once installed). I just did NOT like the fit of the wings for DD2. Kids her age are pretty much all FFing and she is a big kid and they just were too high for my liking

But maybe they are caught up on something? They aren't the easiest to move up and down

zeo2ski · Feb 7, 2009

Wow, well I see why the RFing leg room is such an issue with her then! I agree, the wings aren't that easy to move and I was getting caught up too. After a while it got easier after I worked them a bit. I had to take the cover off to see if they'd go down more. If you look at it from the back, the lowest point you can see (where the bolt thingys go up and down) is the lowest it goes. I also had a lot of trouble with threading through the wrong slots--the cover is loose and sort of moveable for the wings, so it would shift and 3 different times I threaded the harness through and then had to switch it because it was in different slots that it was on the cover! Of course If I'd been taking my time and being careful it wouldn't have been a problem...but I had too many configurations to try before the kids went to bed

emandbri · Feb 7, 2009

Cathy, what color is your radian? I thought it looked gray in the stock photos but yours looks brown.

*Spoiledinmyhouseofblue* · Feb 7, 2009

I love that color of the radian(and I am not a pink person).

That stinks about the headwings. I was really thinking I wanted one of these-darn, but every pic I see of it they are like this. That stinks.

zeo2ski · Feb 7, 2009

emandbri said:
Cathy, what color is your radian? I thought it looked gray in the stock photos but yours looks brown.

That's the "nassau". The stock photos definitely looked more whiteish to me than it does in real life, but it really is gray not brown, but on the brownish end of the gray spectrum if you know what I mean. It doesn't help that those pics were taken at night (those new energy efficient bulbs--does that affect color like flourescent does?), but the one of him in the car was real daylight.

I really didn't want nassau (I loved the RN 80 in manhattan? I think it was called) but didn't want mesh so it was this or pink. Maybe I should have gone with pink. But as soon as I took it out of the box I was very relieved that I liked the color--really better looking than the stock pics, IMO.

ETA: the last pic of the baby with the wings down is the best representation of how it really looks. I found this pic shows the color of the sides perfectly:

Misty-Bug · Feb 8, 2009

have you tried to pull the foot away from the bite of the vehicle seat a bit more? I can get mine pretty upright and that is with the old foot. I do like the looks of those seats :thumbsup:

Kat_Momof3 · Feb 8, 2009

fyrfightermomma said:
Yep, 2nd from the bottom. She has a little over a 12" torso. She is ALL legs. I had it on the 3rd slots which fit in the house, but once I installed it, it was above her shoulders so I moved it down. YDD who has about a 13.5" torso is just AT the 3rd slot and I probably could move them up one and be ok.

I haven't looked where in relation their shoulders would be for FFing, but I'd assume 3rd for DD1 and 4th for DD2 (once again, it would change once installed). I just did NOT like the fit of the wings for DD2. Kids her age are pretty much all FFing and she is a big kid and they just were too high for my liking

But maybe they are caught up on something? They aren't the easiest to move up and down

that explains the confusion.... it's set up for rf for her... I thought it looked like she was ff using the third slots.

official word from russ got it's own thread here - http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=72912

zeo2ski · Feb 8, 2009

Just wanted to say I messed up when I posted before, I said my 2.5 year old is on the 4th slots for both RF or FF, but I forgot I decided he wasn't quite even and he ought to be on the 3rd slots RFing. So that's where he actually is.

It was Radian delivery day at my house today (pics of XT)

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